Chris Yoder aka Clangador Moonthorpe long time Dragonsfoot member has passed away

 
 Christopher Yoder's memorial fund

The following was posted recently over at the Dragonsfoot Forums and I am taking the liberty of posting/quoting it here.

Hi all

It'll be no surprise to most regulars when I say that Chris Yoder, known on these forums as Clangador, has passed away. No surprise, but perhaps, still a bit of a shock. His widow and teenage sons are trying to raise money to pay for his funeral.

I'll say that again. Those boys and their mum are trying to figure out how they can afford to bury their dad.

Now, I realize that there's a recession on. For a lot of us, money is tight. Some Dragonsfooters aren't working. Others might have jobs, but still be struggling to make the rent each week. If you're in that position, then your well-wishes will of course be quite sufficient.

But I know that some of us are fortunate enough to be able to donate a couple of quid, a few dollars, maybe a shekel or two. For those people, I'd like to respectfully draw your attention to this link:-

Chris Yoder burial costs

Thanks for reading, and all the best

Stuart

OK why am I posting this here? Because Chris Yoder brought a lot of good humor to the Dragonsfoot forums. People who joke and lighten the mood, probably don't get the appreciation they deserve. I didn't really know him except by reading his posts, but I am sad that he is gone and I want to help his widow and teenage sons take care of the funeral and honor this husband and father.

On the topic of The Current Climate of OSR Relations

I posted this on a forum where there is a discussion of  The Current Climate of OSR Relations. Apparently there have been some contentious posts recently between people in various places including both blogs and forums. About what I am not completely sure as I have not read much about it. So we have a calm discussion going on with many different points of view, but no rancor and I posted the following:

So quoting myself:

I have been reading the posts on here and I partially agree with each of you, but I also have quite a bit of disagreement. First of all I represent that part of old school gaming that does not think of itself as belonging to the "OSR" and does not ever use modules and has little to no interest in them. As the OGL is used mainly for simulacrums, some of which are close to and others that are distant from the original games they based off of and for modules compatible with those simulacrums they really hold very little interest to me. The "OSR" is so vague and diffused it is in many ways IMO irrelevant. I am glad there is no central authority governing an official "OSR." The main thing an "OSR" tag does is hopefully identify the part of the genre that a product will be compatible with. That is not always the case because opinions about what is old school run the gamut from very narrow and defined to very loose and almost anything is included. So there are some things that are "OSR" identified that IMO are not remotely old school. So some things are IMO "OSR" in name only. YMMV I realize that people who view it like me are a tiny minority

I find the simulacrums of considerably more interest than modules because they contain house rules, so you can look at different ways different people handle things. IMO the community is better served by more things that aid gaming instead of modules. YMMV

To reference my impressions from Robert J Kuntz's new book Dave Arneson's True Genius, I see old school as the original open system that Arneson created for his Blackmoor campaign that was brought to Lake Geneva with nearly two years of development and play testing already completed as a fully functioning game that was being run with a lot of players constantly. Gygax, of course, saw the implications and possibilities and immediately thought of publishing it. At this time the game existed in a pile of notes and in Arneson's head. So Gygax started writing based off of Arneson's notes, playing in Arneson's game and correspondence between the two. As Arneson's notes were not complete and since they did not live next door and did not have email to make communication fast and efficient and easy, Gygax started writing and play testing a version of the game in his new campaign Greyhawk. Rob Kuntz and the other players contributed to the writing of Dungeons & Dragons through their play and their ideas. The open-ended concept and the mechanical ideas were written down filtered through Gygax. So D&D was the Arneson creation with the Gygax interpretation dominating the written word mechanically, but with Arneson's open system intact. Even so, those who played in Blackmoor (and some also in Greyhawk) have testified over the years that D&D did not really change the way Arneson played the game. We also know that Gygax throughout his life and despite how he moved from publicly advocating the open mutable system of OD&D to the much more closed system of AD&D, he always played the open system in his own D&D and AD&D campaigns without the limits that he preached to others. There is one "OSR" writer and I doubt that he would come to any of your minds(that is not an insult), that preaches there is no old school or new school at all and that the is no significant difference between OD&D and 3E or any other game, as he has argued on a number of forums. That is why I said above that the "OSR" is vague. I also find it somewhat amusing that someone who claims there is no old school, nevertheless tries to write for that market and claims a seat at the table. Obviously his mileage varies considerably from mine.

Now to be clear, I see Gamma World, Classic Traveller and a quite a number of other games as old school, there was a time when I did not, but I do now. I used to have a very short list of what were old school, now that list is much, much longer and  I have gotten less and less and less rigid (an ongoing process) through talking with Rob Kuntz, while some other people in various places have gotten extremely rigid and they are all over the map from one end of the spectrum to the other. So my personal definition (YMMV) of old school is that the more open the systems are the more old school it is and the less open the systems are the less old school it is. So it could have been written yesterday and still be old school IMO.

Also, to be clear, there is nothing wrong with using modules regardless of the reason that you use them. I, on the other hand, advocate self-designed sandbox play where the players are free to make any decision that they want to, without any limits. I consider wilderness adventures, dungeon adventures and anything else all to be sandboxes, whether you put in a lot of time creating it up front or whether you create it in real time on the fly. If I tell my players that they see 10 portals shimmering in the air in front of them, there are usually several options that do not involve going through one of the portals. On the other side of each portal I picture in my minds eye 10 different planets floating in space, each unique and different, and it is never a case of having the same encounter behind all of the doors. My players keep going through portals.

I am supporting the BLUEHOLME™ Journeymanne Rules Kickstarter  because I really like seeing the Holmes Rules expanded to Levels 1-20, and with a lot of new Dr Holmes material in it. I don't view it as a replacement for OD&D, but as a resource it is compatible and many of the kickstarter stretch goals items can be used directly IMC. I am not supporting it because it is "OSR" but because IMO it is meaningful and needed to be done and is IMO it ishistorically important to the memory of Dr. Holmes who volunteered his time and skills to making D&D more accessible to beginners who lacked the assumed background knowledge that OD&D assumes. It does not hurt that the author who goes by the screen name of Vile happens to be a great guy and a valued member of many forums, including my own.

I do agree that most of the arguments, drama, and hurt feelings make about as much sense as level limit and alignment arguments do(to paraphrase a member of my forum) or IMO not so much. What Arneson believed his whole life and what Gygax championed back in the beginning is play in a way that is fun for you and your players and it will be completely different from what anyone else is doing, and that is the way it is supposed to be.

I also believe that the "OSR" has both encouraged and stifled creativity at the same time. Because of that the Renaissance part has not been seen to the degree that I think it can and should be seen. I think that the day will come when they (whether many or few) will go back to the original open concept of Blackmoor, Greyhawk, Kalibruhn and OD&D and do something different with it and recapture the lightening in a bottle (product) and it will grow like a wildfire.

IMO it is a shame that the entire contents of Arneson's original notes did not see the light of day and that the notes that Arneson provided for the Blackmoor supplements did not see print, except in part. Again to paraphrase a member of my forum, instead of the editor looking at the notes and failing to make heads or tails of them and putting things by others in the book, you could have said OK here are ten different and contradictory ways to handle X and then print all of them. The Blackmoor supplement could have been all Arneson. IMO our "OSR" authors should think about writing those kind of supplements, grab bags of ideas. People like me would buy stuff like that and IMO others would too. Maps would be great too, especially a map where you could zoom in and print a single hex and key on a single sheet of paper

A member on my forum quoted this portion of the Introduction to OD&D:

INTRODUCTION:

These rules are as complete as possible within the limitations imposed by the space of three booklets. That is, they cover the major aspects of fantasy campaigns but still remain flexible. As with any other set of miniatures rules they are guidelines to follow in designing your own fantastic medieval campaign. They provide the framework around which you will build a game of simplicity or tremendous complexity -- your time and imagination are about, the only limiting factors, and the fact that you have purchased these rules tends to indicate that there is no lack of imagination -- the fascination of the game will tend to make participants find more and more time. We advise, however, that a campaign be begun slowly, following the steps outlined herein, so as to avoid becoming too bogged down with unfamiliar details at first. That way your campaign will build naturally, at the pace best suited to the referee and players, smoothing the way for all concerned. New details can be added and old "laws" altered so as to provide continually new and different situations. In addition, the players themselves will interact in such a way as to make the campaign variable and unique, and this is quite desirable.

Key words and concepts, "guidelines" provide a "framework" for your game of "simplicity" or "tremendous complexity" with the only real limiting factor being time. Begin slowly, build naturally (organically), then add new details, and/or alter old laws to provide continually new and different situations. The decisions the players make will produce a campaign variable and unique.

Does this describe your campaign? If not, why not? The answer to that question is not for you to share so we can judge you, it is for you to answer in your own heart. You should judge yourself and if you are happy with the judgement you make, cool; however, if you are not happy with the judgement you make, then change things in ways that make you happy. I can only speak for myself and say that that does describe all of the campaigns that I have run and am running and I hope it describes the campaigns that many, if not all, of you run.

This has rambled all over the place, but I hope you all followed the gist of what I am saying.

What is Dave Arneson’s True Genius??

What is Dave Arneson’s True Genius??

 

Well... It kinda starts below…

....and then by leaps and bounds...

Breaks the sound barrier of game design history

by 2,000 years...

 

Join us in a giant step into the past that re-opens a

future doorway David L. Arneson created and

gifted to us!

 

From the awarding-winning

game designer

and author Robert J. Kuntz:

 

Dave Arneson’s True Genius

  

Available From threelinestudio.com

"Dave Arneson's True Genius": Released/Available April 13, 2017

Press Release

Why is it that the question still persists of what a Role Playing Game is 46 years after David Arneson first contrived it into being and then a little later with his new partner, Gary Gygax, made the concept available commercially?

Award winning game designer and author Robert J. Kuntz presents the answers in the book, Dave Arnesonʼs True Genius, and they will surprise the entrenched, provisional views of those who have been in a perpetual argument until this point.

In this book Mr. Kuntz describes and explains through design theory and systems theory terms and examples what Arnesonʼs genius accomplished which is no less than the shattering of 2,000 years of game design history and theory.

Available April 13 from Three Line Studio: Dave Arneson's True Genius

Front of the book

Back of the book

This will go live at 10:00AM GMT or 6:00AM EDT on the 13th of April.

BLUEHOLME™ Journeymanne Rules Kickstarter

From the Kickstarter by Michael Thomas! Just follow the links to check it out!

A complete 115-page OSR tabletop RPG in the spirit of 1977 Holmes Basic for character levels 1 through 20.

BLUEHOLME™ Journeymanne Rules Kickstarter

About this project

BLUEHOLME™ Journeymanne Rules

Back in the beginning of 2013, Dreamscape Design (that's me) launched a little retroclone intended to faithfully model the "Holmes" edition of the worlds best-known role-playing game. The BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules, like the original Holmes Basic book, only covered character levels 1 through 3.
The stand-alone BLUEHOLME™ Journeymanne Rules go much further than that.

• Character levels 1 through 20
• Over 230 spells for clerics and magic-users
• Over 120 creatures, including may sub-types
• Over 250 magic items
• Rules for combining character classes
• Rules for playing any species in the creature chapter
• Rules for adventuring in the Wilderness and in the Realm
• 115 pages in 8.5" x 11" format

The Journeymanne Rules are more just than an accurate rendition of "Holmes" edition game-play, they draw from a wide range of sources to more closely model the eclectic and unique approach to the game promoted by Dr J. Eric Holmes himself. In BLUEHOLME™, anything goes - but the dice never lie!

What's this Kickstarter about?

I'm glad you asked! This Kickstarter campaign has only one goal - to fund excellent quality interior artwork for the Journeymanne Rules. Stretch goals mean more art, until there are no empty spaces left. That's it - the text has been written, the layout is ready. Once the campaign ends the only thing you're waiting for is the artists to do their thing.
You can already see the outstanding cover art produced by Jean-Francois Beaulieu in the video - his art was commissioned up front, because I believe a creator should have enough faith in his project to invest in it himself. A bevy (is that a proper collective term?) of artists has been lined up to grace the interior pages from cover to cover. In no particular order (click on their names to see more of their amazing work):

• Russ Nicholson
• Del Teigeler
• Scott Buoncristiano
• Denis McCarthy
• Joseph Garcia
• Guillaume Tavernier
• Chris Holmes
• Bryan Syme
• Todd McGowan
• Luigi Castellani
• Andrew DeFelice
• Bradley K. McDevitt
• James V. West
• Chad Thorson

New Spells for Old

Over on my forum The Ruins of Murkhill - OD&D and Other Classic Old School RPGs one of my members has started a new project down in the Workshop area in a sub-forum titled New Spells for Old. So far she has started threads titled:

Creating New Spells for OD&D
What are different ways that Magic-User Magic could Work?
What are different ways that Clerical Magic could Work?
Magic-Users Spells and Levels
Clerics Spells and Levels
Magic-Users First Level Spells
Clerics First Level Spells
Spells for Creating Magical items
How do you create Clerical Magic Items

 These are just getting started, but please check it out and encourage the project. Other Character Classes are welcomed by the OP and this is just the start.

A Few Things from Robert J Kuntz

Having been sick for most of the last two months (my wife and I alternating back and forth in that state) I have way behind on my projects and my posting.  So that is not an excuse just a statement of what has happened.

Here are a few links from posts over at Rob's blog Lake Geneva Original RPG Campaign.

My Interview at the Multiverse Blog

BoardGameGeek Composite Rating for El Raja Key Archive: So Far So Good!

Dave Arneson's True Genius Cover FINISHED!

A New Interview of RJK by the French Magazine La Gazette du Donjon (French & English) 

A Project I'm Writing and Laying Out at the Same Time

Some great stuff here, check out the links and see what is up!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!

On behalf of myself and those I game with, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!

A few quotes from one of my favorite stories!

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol.

 “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob,' faltered Scrooge, who now began to apply this to himself.

Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. "Mankind was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The deals of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

“There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,' returned the nephew. 'Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!” 

“He went to the church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and for, and patted the children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of homes, and up to the windows, and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed of any walk, that anything, could give him so much happiness. 

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!” 

Link to Published Interview with Robert J Kuntz

Here is a fascinating Interview with Robert J Kuntz published over on the Multiverse blog on 11/30/2016. Q&A with Robert J. Kuntz.

Rob posted the link on his blog at My Interview at the Multiverse Blog .

There is a lot packed in this interview and many topics could be spun off of it. Over on my forum I spun off this topic as a start on doing that, Spinoff - Dinner Guests any five writers any time period.

Also check this out:

TLB Games Holiday Specials  

Three Line Studio on Facebook 

November 22 at 9:07am ·

★ Sunken City: First Print by Robert J. Kuntz is a classic #RPG adventure for 6-9 characters of 8th to 10th level. The adventure is a 40-page, smaller than digest-sized, booklet with a sturdy, separate, card stock cover. Pre-generated characters are provided, complete with statistics, magic-items, equipment, and spells. ★ Available to Order NOW from TLB Games!

November 28 at 5:17pm ·

★ TLB Games Holiday Sale Special, starting Cyber Monday until Christmas Day ★ Happy Holidays From TLB Games & Three Line Studio!
Check out our fantastic offers on the El Raja Key Archive line:
★ Basic DVD: Normally $39.99 --- Holiday Special: $24.99!
★ Standard DVD: Normally $79.99 --- Holiday Special: $59.99!
★ Deluxe DVD: Normally $119.99 --- Holiday Special: $89.99!
★ Collectors DVD: Normally $159.99 --- Holiday Special: $139.99!
★ K1 Sunken City (1st Print): Normally $14.99 --- Holiday Special: $9.99!